Partition construction



July 27, 1943.

I V. LEFEBURE PARTITION CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 6 1940 Patented July 27, 1943' i-i.-.-;

' I -vic torf-Lekeur, London, ngland; assist; t; -Imperial Chemicallndustries Limited a, eorpm ration of Greate Britain Abblicatib'n September 6, icicgs r iam i In Great Britain 0ctober2t,1es9 a 'foi i'nis, (okra- 463f This invention relates toanimproved'rnethod and in oarticular to' the constructionof interiial partitions in buildings, to the construction of fceilingsland to the facing-of existing yval l'sj or other surfaces, W Plaster board; which is a composite board made by allowing-a layer'of water-settingpm'stenor cement to set while in contact on both sides, with iiner's' of paperypulp board, cardboard or the like, is generally manufactured" by a continuous sheeting method in whicha'la'yer of wet plastic is fed-on to am'oving sheet of the linerma terial supported on a conveyor, a further sheet of linermaterial beingfe'dunder a roller on to theiayer of plastic, When the plastic; hasset, the board is cut into suitable lengths and is'dried in an oven. The [maximum length of board which can be conveniently handled in practice is about 12 feet and accordingly the largestsize of constructing partitionsor of facing structures,

'- primary ax ng-me hers'carryingthe board are in positionthetwo of plasterboard generally fay'ail'able is about 12 ieet longby 3 to 4 feet wide; In erecting partitions with such boards, the boards are usually arranged with their long sides vertiical and their edges abutting, the boards b eingln ailed to 'the framework of'the partition o'r h'e'ld by Vertical battens fixed over the abutting edges, of the I boards. In the construction or ceilingsflsirnilar methods are adopted, care being takento' support the board lengthwise to prevent sagging.

' The object of-rhy 'invention is, to provide a rapid and. convenient -method 1 of fixing plast er board or the 1ike, without nailing or otherwise damaging the'boa'rd, so' that when desiredthe board. can be readily dismantlda-nd used again.

' According to my inventi'on' I-riiakefiisofhlet ter' board or otherboard the" interior of tvh-ich is traversed by -a number ofparallel holesextending from oneedge of the board to the opposite edge. For-1 convenience, board tit-this kind will hereinafter be termed cavitied 'bo'aid. According to my invention'i 'prir'nary i'fi xihg members such as rodsor tubes are psed throug'h some or allof the-holes of =the cavitiedboard 'so that the end of the-member's project-beyond the edges of the board, and the said. endsare then caused to en agewith socketslin secondary fixa ing members extending transversely to the'pri- I mary fixing- =members and, secured to the-main structure. 4 i

sp ctiveyiew I the method 0 fixing the' priiria-ry fixing rne'm e;tethat'iiiugtratein Figur 1; i a

' edge's of-tl ie' cards niayfbeplarie l or may be 'shaiaed a-ee ion of a partition showing brsir'i "a secondary fixing rnembei'. Figures 4 and 5 ar respectively perspectiveviews of'porfixing members to'provide an entirely concealed Bef'erring'toff iif th esecondary'fixing m mber I consists 4 alength of wood'or 'other suitable material; of 'rectangular cross-section having a mnnber of holes bored through it as shown at 2". ineinlfier'l is bise'cte'd length.-

wise in a plane ssingithrough the axes of the holes so" that the two' halves ma-y be 's'epa'lated for insertion of theends r the primary fixing members'mot si iotvii) into t'he holes. When the I I wager n ;me ber i may be fixed together by -screws-or bolts (not shown) at'conve'riieritintervals. v t Referring to Figure; '2, the' secondaryfixing member hastiyd par'allel sets' of holes Hi, H, to enableddou ieailed pa t; 0a to be'r'nade 1 The member is -div"ided--alongfl-thelplanes passing through the axes of the sets of holes, oneofth pieces beihg'showh separated? g i Referring? to 'Fi reference n meral 1 3 denotes one half 'of secondary fixingmemb'er shaped on its exfiosed'side so as to serve as a sound frorii'fthe "e'iiin g for the joists when 'the 'The'fpartition' consists of giving a number of vertical :board with a corresponding projecting ridge is I placed in pos it ioh with'theulertical edges of. the

two= boards abn mg,

Imthe accompanying draWing'Fi-guie l is a.v perspective iew of a secondary fixing number;

Figure. 2 is a perspective View of a'i-modifie'd form 1 of secondary fixingame'mber adatedto receive two sets'oi primary members; Figure'BiSEa perw v t lbse i i mined by the tongue and groove-construction; The usual methods of caulking .or reinforcing edgefioin'ts I. v" i-" le j ei e r ef m echnique. a v

Referring to Eiguregthe edge of thefcfayitied operate with the secondary member H, which has a tapered recess similar in shape to the tapered edge of the board, to provide an entirely concealed fix when th 'primary fixing members are passed through the holes 15 and intothe socket holes Hi. The constructions shown in Figure 5 is similar to that of Figure 4 but instead of the edge'of =th'e board'beingZtapered-toan an'- gle, it is roundedas shown at '11 to engage with the correspondingly rounded recess 18 in the secondary fixing member.

fixing members and the length of the projecting primary fixing members,ca n be so arranged that.

the secondary fixing members can be forced by building movement towards each other, without I ll) A complete wall may be built up in the above way, the plaster board being of such'leng'th as to I extend from fioor to ceiling-and the secondary fixing members at the top and bottom of the board acting as cornice and. skirting respectively,

or having separate cornice and skirtin members attached thereto. The surface of the wall is then quite free from projections, andthe fixing mem I bers are completely concealed. Such a secret fix is a desirable feature in building practice and is obtainable according: to the present invention in a simpler-and less costly manner than accord ingto known systems.,.-

If an entirely concealed isjreduired, with no skirting and cornice 'I can operate in two Ways! I y v i'i I.;:

(1) The secondary fixing members are let into th floor and ceiling or the. twoside'walls, so that-the length of the board corres'ponds with the length of the treatment. Nol -secondary flX ing members are seen; I I (2) That part of the secondary fixing member which isabove fioor level or belowceiling level is made no thicker thanithe bO ard- -it s eIf, and it is given such a cross-section, say triangular or semi-circulanthat it fits into a groove .of this section-in the contacting edge, of the board, or the board itself may be tapered or rounded and thesecondary fixing member recessed. I

If the wall to be built, or, space .to be covered, is larger than the size of the board .unit in one or both directions, secondary-fixingmembers can be employed to breakup. the space into such sizes as are compatible with the-fixing, of the are then fixed as before. In this way a ceiling can be erected with great Ispeed,-andwith the important. advantage of remarkable ease of'removal. for dealing, say, :with services such as electric conduits above theceiling. ,Iffitiisde:

sired to reduce the transferenceof sound ,from

I upperto lower rooms, andnotably impact sound,

the secondary fixing members arenot attached to the floor above, sayto-the joists,-but to the sides of the wall's.-v Further to divorce the ceiling fromlimpact sound travelling through walls, the

primary fixing members m be made to rest (on rubber or cork oresimilar insulator, itself lining or otherwise serving as'l'support for; .-,these memers, within the holes of: the secondaryfixing members.

The system can be divorced from the stresses introduced by building movement through contact of walls and floors, ore-side. walls, by several. methodsz.

n. uk/

any pressure bearing upon the primary fixing members; see Fig. 3 at 8. The position of the secondary fixing member s c an also be such that there a free space between them and the inner f edge of the board itself; free space can be concealed by cornice and skirting.

of the'holes in the secondaryfixing member.

- Thus any pressure on the primary fixing memfbers'ist akenup by movement in the cushion.

- It will be understood that the holes of the cavitied plaster board need not be circular in section. -.The primary fixing members may be of any convenient cross-section, not necessarily the same as that of the holes. The preferred forms I of primary. fixing members are firstly thin walled metal. tubes and secondly metal members of I-sec tion... Wooden rods. may also be employed :as primary fixing members, 'Members which are a reasonably close fit within the holes of the board are conveniently. employed. If desired they may be groutedinto the holes or treated with a suitable adhesive prior to insertion.

I The secondary fixingmembers may be of wood or metal, or they may be cast from plaster or -cement, with reinforcement iffl'necessary'.

W As regards the board itselfthe holes may be provided merely-at the desired intervals. for the purpose of receiving the primary fixing members, or a board, may be used which hasrelatively 'cjloselyjspacedhole'sl In this case the secondary fixing members are preferably v.providedwith similarly spaced holes y An importantadvantageIof the constructions according to the inventloni's thcir high fire resistance, due tothe shield-ingot the primary fixing membersby the'fire resistant plaster core oftheboarda U 1 The invention is particularly applicable to cavitie dfboards made by...the' process of U. S. atezii; 2,260,081 corresponding to application No. 263,760 of Victor Lefebure and.John B. Sandfordyiz; plaster boards having tubular cavities.

lined erunlined, extending leng'thwisefof the board.) I Instead of plasterboard we may use blocks or. sheets made. fromwater -setting plasters or cementsjwhich may or ma y not have a cellular structure resulting ir'om the incorporation of foam? T uin e tiqn; m s e appliedto I synthetic ;resin moulded products and to ceramic I (l) The secondary-fixing memberscan rest upon a cushion of such material asrubben fibreboard r length 91 esm -thez ec d r .ed forattachment to a materials.- Thetermi board as used in the claims includes all such .types'of structural elements I claim: 1 l

In buildingconstructions, in combination'a board having cavities'therein opening out of at least one edge-thereof,-.primary fixing members in said'cavities extending out therfrom beyond said edge; anida secondary .fixing member adapttending longitudinally'Ialong saidedge and proyided fwith socket portions therein adapted to I enclose. and-receive said primary fixing members; said secondary fixing member being divided through said socket portions longitudinallythere of into two parts whereby onlsepar'ating the parts said primary fixing members can be introduced into 'or removed from the socket portions by'sim- -building part and ex 2. In building constructions, in combination a board having cavities therein opening out of opposite edges thereof, primary fixing members in said cavities extending out therefrom beyond said edges, and a secondary fixing member adjacent to each edge, attached in spaced relation to each other to a building part and extending longitudinally along said edges and provided with socket portions adapted to enclose and receive said primary fixing members, each of said members being divided through said socket portions into two parts whereby on separating the parts said primary fixing members can be introduced in or taken out from the socket portions by lateral movement of the board without requiring movement in the plane of the board.

3. In building constructions, in combination a board having at least one edge which is of convex cross-section, with cavities therein open 1 ing out of said edge, primary fixing members in said cavities extending out therefrom beyond said edge, and a secondary fixing member extending longitudinally along said edge and adapted for attachment to a building part, of concave: cross-section whereby to conceal said board edge, g and provided with socket portions thereinadapted' to enclose and receive said primary fixing members, said member being divided through said Q socket portions into two parts whereby on separating the parts said primary fixing members can be introduced in the socket portions by sim-' ple lateral movement'of theboard. VICTOR LEFEBURE. 

